A Quebec Court judge ruled that a man who posed as an immigration consultant was guilty of 54 counts of violating the province's immigration act.

Tarek Harhira allowed Tunisian nationals to claim he was their friend living in Quebec or their parents' to facilitate the applicant's entry into Canada, according to court documents." Most of the applications were sent between 2004 and 2006."

The documents also show that Harhira was not even living in Canada when applicants claimed him as their Quebec-based sponsor.

In his written decision released Dec. 14, Justice Denis Lavergne said that Harhira couldn't provide sufficient proof of Quebec residence.

Court documents state that an investigator from Quebec's immigration ministry showed Harhira 21 pictures of Tunisian applicants who claimed him as their friend or parent, and Harhira couldn't identify a single one.

He told the court he lived in Quebec and Tunisia for most of this decade, and added that if there were errors in the application forms, they weren't made with bad intentions.

He also blamed the errors on his secretary in Tunisia.

Judge Lavergne did not believe Harhira's testimony.

"There is every reason to believe that the defendant himself suggested to applicants to use his name as a 'friend in Quebec,'" Lavergne wrote. "It is not realistic to believe that 21 applicants who came from different areas across Tunisia have the defendant as their friend."

It is unclear from the court documents if applicants paid Harhira to use his name on their immigration forms.

Phony immigration consultant hit with 54 charges

A Quebec Court judge ruled that a man who posed as an immigration consultant was guilty of 54 counts of violating the province's immigration act.

Tarek Harhira allowed Tunisian nationals to claim he was their friend living in Quebec or their parents' to facilitate the applicant's entry into Canada, according to court documents." Most of the applications were sent between 2004 and 2006."

The documents also show that Harhira was not even living in Canada when applicants claimed him as their Quebec-based sponsor.